Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Random User-Agent VS Dark Reader

Compare Random User-Agent VS Dark Reader and see what are their differences

Random User-Agent logo Random User-Agent

Automatically change the user agent after specified period of time to a randomly selected one, thus...

Dark Reader logo Dark Reader

Reduce eye strain in your browser with this extension that provides a dark theme for browsing.
  • Random User-Agent Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-09
  • Dark Reader Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-12-27

Random User-Agent features and specs

  • Privacy Enhancement
    Random User-Agent helps in enhancing user privacy by rotating user-agent strings, making it harder for trackers to build a consistent profile of the user.
  • Bypass Basic Scraping Restrictions
    By changing user-agent strings frequently, Random User-Agent can help bypass basic scraping restrictions implemented by some websites.
  • Improved Testing
    It allows developers to test how their websites behave across different browsers and devices by simulating various user-agent strings.
  • Open Source
    Being open-source, it provides transparency and the opportunity for users to inspect and contribute to the codebase.
  • Flexibility
    Users can customize the list of user-agent strings to include ones that suit their specific needs or target different scenarios.

Possible disadvantages of Random User-Agent

  • Website Compatibility Issues
    Some websites may not function correctly if they are presented with outdated or unsupported user-agent strings.
  • Potential for Abuse
    The tool could be used for unethical purposes, such as circumventing access restrictions or malicious web scraping, leading to potential abuse.
  • Increased Detection Risk
    Some advanced anti-bot systems may detect the frequent change in user-agent strings as suspicious behavior, potentially blocking access.
  • Reduced Performance
    For applications heavily relying on a consistent user-agent for caching or optimization, changing these strings randomly could lead to reduced performance.
  • Maintenance Overhead
    Maintaining an up-to-date list of user-agent strings requires ongoing effort to ensure compatibility with the latest browser versions.

Dark Reader features and specs

  • Eye Strain Reduction
    Dark Reader converts bright websites to dark mode, which reduces eye strain and improves visual comfort, especially in low-light environments.
  • Customizable Settings
    The extension offers various customization options like brightness, contrast, and sepia filters, allowing users to adjust the appearance to their liking.
  • Improved Battery Life
    Using dark themes on OLED screens can help save battery life because pixels consume less power when displaying black.
  • Open Source
    Being an open-source project, Dark Reader allows for community contributions and transparency, ensuring better security and continuous improvements.
  • Cross-Browser Compatibility
    Dark Reader is available for multiple browser platforms such as Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge, ensuring a consistent experience across different devices.

Possible disadvantages of Dark Reader

  • Performance Impact
    The extension can sometimes slow down browser performance, particularly on resource-intensive websites or less powerful devices.
  • Inconsistent Behavior
    Not all websites are fully compatible with Dark Reader, leading to occasional rendering issues or incomplete dark mode implementations.
  • Learning Curve
    New users might find the range of settings and customization options overwhelming and might need some time to adjust the extension to suit their needs.
  • Limited Support for Dynamic Content
    Websites with dynamic content or frequent updates may not immediately reflect changes in dark mode, requiring manual adjustments or refreshes.
  • Privacy Concerns
    As with any browser extension, there are potential privacy concerns if the extension collects browsing data, though Dark Reader's open-source nature mitigates this risk to some extent.

Random User-Agent videos

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Dark Reader videos

Dark Mode for Google Chrome — Dark Reader

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Random User-Agent and Dark Reader)
Monitoring Tools
100 100%
0% 0
Browser Extension
12 12%
88% 88
Dark Mode
19 19%
81% 81
Developer Tools
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Random User-Agent and Dark Reader

Random User-Agent Reviews

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Dark Reader Reviews

7 Best Dark Mode Extensions For Chrome
Using an on-demand dark styles theme generator, this eye-care extensions for google chrome turns on night mode for web pages. Bright color are turned into high contrast, easy-to-read hues at night thanks to Dark Reader.
Source: thedroidguy.com
The 10 best dark mode extensions for Google Chrome in 2022
Dark Reader also provides you with other controls that let you tweak your display however you want. They allow you to change any website’s brightness, contrast, font, and other display elements. You can also store the settings for a particular URL so that you do not have to make these adjustments every time. The most notable feature of Dark Reader is its toggle switch that...
Source: chromeready.com

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Dark Reader seems to be a lot more popular than Random User-Agent. While we know about 191 links to Dark Reader, we've tracked only 2 mentions of Random User-Agent. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Random User-Agent mentions (2)

  • make a website believe you‘re using windows
    Use the following extension and set a Windows user agent: https://github.com/tarampampam/random-user-agent. Source: about 2 years ago
  • The metaverse is bullshit
    It still doesn't make you safe from being tracked, it only makes you harder to track through fingerprinting and there are other methods to track you as well. A similar extension is also available for other browsers. Source: over 3 years ago

Dark Reader mentions (191)

  • Claim for a Missing Tooth
    I suppose they’re using https://darkreader.org/ or something like that! If you implement dark mode yourself, you can add `` to prevent Dark Reader from triggering. - Source: Hacker News / about 2 months ago
  • Please Don't Force Dark Mode on Users
    Instead of writing this shitty article, just do like those of us who can't take light mode, and install Dark Reader (that also does light mode). https://darkreader.org/. - Source: Hacker News / 4 months ago
  • Ask HN: Will HN ever have a dark mode?
    I prefer sites not to implement a custom dark mode and instead to make sure their styles invert well, less work for devs, more consistency for me. https://darkreader.org/ https://www.howtogeek.com/446198/how-to-force-dark-mode-on-every-website-in-google-chrome/. - Source: Hacker News / 4 months ago
  • Ask HN: Why did you decide to make the background a bright white color?
    DarkReader will save your eyes, I'm not fond of extensions, but this one is worth it: https://darkreader.org/. - Source: Hacker News / 5 months ago
  • Control iPhone with the movement of your eyes Support (SG)
    DarkReader works pretty well for my needs. It has an iOS Safari Extension. [1] https://darkreader.org/. - Source: Hacker News / 6 months ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Random User-Agent and Dark Reader, you can also consider the following products

30 Seconds of Knowledge - Become a better developer, in every new tab.

Stylebot - Change the appearance of websites instantly. Preview and install styles created by other users on stylebot.me

User-Agent Switcher and Manager - spoofs browser's User-Agent string.

Night Eye - Night Eye is a browser extension that enables dark mode on any website you visit. It does not ruin your browsing experience by simply inverting images.

Chameleon WebExtension - Chameleon is a Firefox extension to Spoof your browser profile.

Stylus - User Styles Manager - Stylus is a userstyles editor and manager based on the source code of Stylish version 1.5.2.